B'nai B'rith Housing formally broke ground Friday on The Coolidge at Sudbury, a 64-unit apartment complex for active seniors and older adults age 55 and over.

“This is a huge milestone for us for a development that will allow more local seniors to remain in their community by choosing to live at The Coolidge,” said B'nai B'rith Housing's executive director, Susan Gittelman. “All the pieces are in place, and once construction is complete, we look forward to an opening and the arrival of new residents in late summer 2014.”

The development will be located at 189 Boston Post Road (Route 20) in Sudbury. It is financed through housing tax credits, state housing programs, the Town of Sudbury Housing trust and the West Metro HOME Consortium...more.

Five accomplished alumni of Lowell High School were honored Thursday, joining 45 others who have been named distinguished alumni in the last 10 years.

Many of the 50 distinguished alumni were at the ceremony in Cyrus W. Irish Auditorium, representing some of the most notable graduates going back more than 180 years.

The latest class includes a man who was key in getting Israel's statehood recognized by the United States; one of the first women in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps; the founder of a dry-cleaning chain; the head of a property-management company; and a world-champion boxer.

Frank Goldman, who died in 1965, was represented by his grandson of the same name; Mary Agnes Hallaren by her grandniece, Geraldine Robarge; and Arthur Anton by his son, Charles. James Herscot and George Michael "Micky" Ward Jr. were there to be honored.

"The city of Lowell is proud of you and the school is proud of you," Superintendent Jean Franco said.

Goldman said he was honored to talk about "Papa Frank," a member of the class of 1907 who served as president of B'nai B'rith, a Jewish humanitarian and advocacy group. It was Goldman, who lived to age 74, who argued to President Truman to recognize statehood for Israel, making the United States the first country to do so.

"He was just a kid from Lowell, Mass., who grew up to affect one of the most significant moments in history," his grandson said. "His story is always overlooked, and I don't think that would bother him."...more.

by Daniel S. Mariaschin, executive vice president of B'nai B'rith International

November 9th and 10th marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the explosion of terror and destruction against German and Austrian Jews that signaled the beginning of Hitler’s genocide targeting the Jewish people.

The account of the killing and the damage inflicted on those Jewish communities -- including attacks on nearly 7,500 shops, more than 1,000 synagogues and nearly 100 people killed in less than 12 hours of orchestrated mayhem -- tells only half the story. As important was the official nature of these attacks and the “they-had-it-coming-to-them” statements made by people in high places and, of course, in the government-controlled media.

There were no attempts to hide the intent to humiliate, threaten and harm the more than 700,000 Jews who lived in cities and towns large and small.

Indeed, there were no guidelines to those who carried out this massive pogrom, save for making sure that there be no fires set against Jewish-owned properties that might spread to non-Jewish buildings and neighborhoods.

Pouring massive amounts of salt into the wounds in the aftermath, the Nazi authorities demanded that the Jewish community compensate the government for the “damage inflicted against it.”

Lest there be no mistaking the message being so loudly sent, thousands of Jews were hauled off to places like Sachsenhausen, a short distance from Berlin, which became the archetype for the concentration camps and death camps that would soon multiply in Germany and the lands it would occupy after the beginning of World War II less than one year later.

What that terrifying night and day represented was official incitement.

Reports of residents watching the sledgehammers crashing against shop windows and the incendiary attacks on Jewish houses of worship note many who watched and cheered those who perpetrated the destruction.

No mystery in this—from Hitler’s coming to power in 1933, the Nazi regime had been setting the scene for what would occur during Kristallnacht.

By casting the Jews as Germany’s “misfortune,” as unclean and unwanted vermin, the Nazis were ensuring the public’s absolute and unquestioning support for a pogrom against the Jewish community. And so, they destroyed Jewish property and, what was even more important, Jewish places of worship.

Under the cover of official encouragement, one could participate in the humiliation of a people, view it from a block away, or, on the morning after, take it all in with glee or smug satisfaction.

Unfortunately, incitement against Jews is still common today.

The demonization and delegitimization of Israel and the Jewish people results in regular violence against Jews around the world.

Even as we observe events of three quarters of a century ago, there are clerics in the Middle East who refer, in weekly sermons, to Jews as pigs and monkeys.

The Hamas charter has this to say: Jews hide behind rocks and trees waiting to pounce on Palestinians, so you better attack a Jew before he gets a chance to attack you.

There are frequent attempts in international forums to negate the connection of the Jewish people to its holiest sites.

Holocaust denial is a staple in many parts of the Middle East and the Islamic world; Iran’s former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was only its most well-known practitioner. Language he used in carrying out this revisionism mimicked the Nazis when he called Israel a cancer to be excised from the region.

And then there is the actual comparison of Israelis to Nazis made regularly by heads of state and diplomats, the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

They claim Israel’s security fence is “akin to the Warsaw Ghetto,” Israel commits “round-ups and deportations,” and—most significantly—Israel is guilty of “genocide” against the Palestinian people.

Today there is renewed talk about a two-state solution to once and for all resolve the contentious Israeli-Palestinian issue. But how can we realistically expect such an outcome if the Palestinian Authority (PA) doesn’t educate for peace?

When the Oslo Accords were signed 20 years ago, Israel and the Palestinians were each tasked with fulfilling certain obligations. The Palestinians were asked to do three things: dismantle the terrorist organizations, arrest those who carry out acts of terror and end the incitement.

The record is sadly wanting: the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade, connected to Fatah, is by definition and by its own admission through claiming credit for acts of terror, a terrorist organization. The arrest record has been inconsistent.

But when it comes to incitement, the PA continues full steam ahead, notwithstanding the current round of negotiations with the Israelis. Indeed, a Palestinian baby born on the day the Oslo Accords were signed has only known a steady diet of hatred toward Israel and the Jewish people.

Some would say that comparisons between Nazi Germany and this Middle East conflict is misleading or, at least, hyperbolic. After all, a modern state of Israel, with a cutting-edge army, exists today and did not then. However, no one is stating that the acts carried out in Nazi Germany 75 years ago are akin to what is happening on the ground in the region today.

But the intention to defame and delegitimize a people and the state that represents half of all the Jews in the world; to use language that casts them as less than human or manipulative and cunning; and to attempt to erase their history invites comparisons to a dark and haunting past.

Incitement, especially when it comes wrapped in official approbation, leads to unbridled hatred.

No agreement between Israelis and Palestinians can possibly stick when official spokespersons, media outlets, clerics and semi-official NGOs are dedicated to demonizing their neighbors. That’s a lesson that can be learned from the events of 1938, notwithstanding the passage of time...more.

B’nai B’rith International recognized Dr. Jeremy Levin for his commitment to improving global health care, having worked for numerous health care innovators such as Novartis, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Teva. His solid commitment to philanthropy, community service and industry leadership are to be commended. Here are excerpts from his acceptance speech.

Your Excellency, Ambassador Ron Prosor, Mr. Allan Jacobs, My Friend Mr. Dan Mariaschin, My Friend George Aaron, Friends and Family, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored to be here tonight to accept this prestigious award. I would like to thank you all for coming and for the generous support many of you have given to this event and to the B’nai B’rith. Allow me also to express my appreciation for the exceptionally kind words of George Aaron and allow me also to say how difficult it is to speak after the eloquent oratory of Ambassador Prosor.This award is indeed prestigious and bestows a great honor on those who receive it. It is an incredible accolade, an indication of making it to the top of one’s profession.

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At its very core Israel is a country imbued with the values you so generously support, values that can never be forgotten, ignored or taken for granted. Some of you may not know my background. My parents vigorously opposed apartheid in South Africa and Rhodesia in the 1960's, and twice we were forced to leave our home and country. On one occasion the family was forced to flee in the middle of the night when my father received word that he was to be arrested the next morning. As someone who fled Apartheid and political oppression and who is part of a family that has committed itself to human rights, I know exactly why those values mean so much.

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…To make this economy a world‐leading economy, I believe Israel must commit itself to focusing on unique internal challenges. These include educating all sectors of the society and continuing that education through higher grades, bringing into the economy the minorities including the Haredi, the Arabs, Druze, Bedouin and Ethiopians, creating the economic opportunities and conditions to reverse the current brain drain, stopping the hemorrhage of intellectual property out of the country, resolving the tensions that exist between the free market economy and the socialist based institutions, cultivating conditions for the young families of Israel to own homes, driving for best practices in corporate and government operations including adopting more rigorous and accountable governance standards, developing and implementing a clear philosophy of taxation and capital allocation, and elevating the level of the press.

This array of goals may sound daunting. But I believe that they are key to achieving a sustainable Israeli economy, an economy that will generate growth though high value jobs , one that will have sufficient revenues to underwrite its defense and domestic needs, one that will have enough educated workers with the knowledge of core subjects required to staff those jobs and one that will have enough democracy and fairness embedded in it to secure the stability of the economy. All sectors of the Israeli economy must flourish for Israel to flourish.

Israel, a democratic nation, is important not just for Jews but also for all those who believe in democracy. And Jewish values are at the heart of this nation – the values that B'nai B'rith supports and encourages. The values we all should stand for. B'nai B'rith has stood as the voice of the Jewish people worldwide and as a staunch supporter of the State of Israel. Your impact on the citizens and the State of Israel is profound. And it is because of this that I would like to thank Dan and the organization for this award tonight – I am proud to receive this recognition from an organization that so fundamentally supports and cherishes core values that so closely match mine.